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How a Hat Can Protect Against Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is an unusual growth of skin cells. It mainly grows on parts of the skin subjected to the sun’s rays. Every year in the U.S. оvеr 5.4 million саѕеѕ оf nonmelanoma ѕkіn саnсеr іѕ trеаtеd іn mоrе thаn 3.3 mіllіоn реорlе. Eасh уеаr there are more nеw саѕеѕ оf skin саnсеr that exceed thе combined incidences of breast, рrоѕtаtе, lung аnd colon cancer. Research shows that one in five Americans is likely to develop skin cancer during the course of a lifetime.How a Hat Can Protect Against Skin Cancer

Our faces are exposed to ultraviolet (UV) emission every single day of the year. Therefore, it is not unexpected that parts such as the ears, forehead, lips, and nose are among the most prevalent areas for skin cancer to grow. The right hat will not only protect your face, head, ears and the back of the neck but will also reduce the degree of UV radiation reaching your eyes by 50%.

A hat with at least a 5-7 cm of brim all-around will work best mainly because it guards parts of the head which are frequently exposed to intense sunlight, like the ears, eyes, forehead, nose, and scalp.

A dark, non-reflective underside to the brim can also help reduce the degree of UV rays hitting the face from reflective surfaces like the water. A shade cap (which looks like a baseball cap with about 15 cm of fabric dropping down the sides and back)  is also an excellent choice and will offer additional protection for the neck.

In the event you don’t have a shade cap handy, you could make one by wearing a sizable handkerchief or bandana under a baseball cap. Straw hats vary on the level of UV protection and depend on the density of the weave.

Felt and wool hats offer the greatest protection against the sun arrays.